Featured Collaborator – Jeannette Breward

Collaborator Bio

As a photographer, I strive to create work that conveys a narrative and evokes an emotion. I often enjoy creating pieces that have a surreal quality to them, using photography as a way to unleash my imagination, and that of the viewer.

I strive to create new, dreamlike worlds through the lens of my camera. My images are almost never without a human subject, as I love capturing the true beauty of an individual in a photograph. Creative portraiture is most certainly my passion!

I want to continue to use my love of photography to see more, do more, meet new people, and of course – tell more stories.

Jeannette BrewardPort Hope - ON

An Interview with Jeannette

Q. When is your birthday?

A. April 19th 1984

Q. What is your best memory/moment from one of your past birthdays?

A. It’s hard to think of just one to pick. All of my birthdays as a kid were full of fun – usually a small group of friends sleeping over, eating a delicious cake that my mom always baked and decorated from scratch, playing games, giggling, and staying up as late as possible.

Q. How about your worst? And why?

A.I think my worst would probably be the birthday I celebrated when I was attending my first year of Ryerson in Toronto in 2004. I was a pretty quiet and introverted person at the time, so living in the city was hard for me as I didn’t connect with many people my first year there. All of my family and friends were back at home, so it felt pretty lonely!

Q. What do you believe is the most important aspect of celebrating a birthday?

A. Taking the time to celebrate the past year, and all that it has brought you. Looking forward to the year to come and just celebrating life!

Q. Do you/your family have a tradition/rituals/ceremonies to celebrate birthdays? What is it?

A. My husband’s family on his mother’s side has a tradition that I’ve been exposed to since we started dating. It is small, but always makes me laugh when new people are brought into the fold and experience it. Everyone gets together as a group for dinner/cake/etc. When the cake is brought out, everyone of course sings Happy Birthday. However, they then follow it up by singing Happy Birthday AGAIN, this time at super speed. The second go through ends with everyone belting out “AND MANY MOOOORE”, followed by “Boop boop be doop!” for some reason that is still beyond me!

Q. What is your life motto?

A. Life is an adventure. It is important to enjoy every day, whether that means finding joy in the small things, or doing something epic. It doesn’t matter. I have been striving to live a more positive life, and to bring joy to those around me in whatever way I can.

Q. What/Whom drives you to keep going and why?

A. My family, my husband, my own drive to simply see more, do more, and create the life I want for myself! There are so many amazing places in the world that I want to see, so many things to experience. I know the life I want to be living, so I just keep pushing to get there. My mom is a huge inspiration for me. No matter what life deals her, she always comes out smiling on top, and bringing laughter to all those around her, in her own unique way.

Q. If you could change one and only one thing – big or small – what would it be?

A. I would change the judgmental mentality of so many people in the world. Everyone has flaws, and everyone has strengths. People are so quick to tear others down, it would be nice if that much energy was put into lifting others up instead.

Q. Which photographers have influenced you, and how did they influence your thinking, photographing and career path?

A. Brooke Shaden and Sarah Ann Loreth are two photographers I find incredibly inspiring. Brooke was the first conceptual photographer I discovered. Before that, I had no idea that those types of images could even be created with a camera! It totally changed the direction of my work and my style and led me to finish my photography degree and pursue a career in the art world. Sarah’s work is equally amazing, and her and Brooke’s constant positive attitude, desire to reach out to the photography community and connect with and inspire others, drives me to be a more positive person. Their attitude pushes me to force myself out of my introverted comfort zone, to pursue what I love, to look at every day through a positive lens, and to try to make a difference to others.

Q. What motivates you to continue to take photographs?

A. So many things! The world is beautiful and always changing and you can never see enough of it! There are so many unique and amazing people out there, so many stories to tell, so much magic to create and share!

Q. Why did you agree to participate in The Birthday Book Project?

A. Having the opportunity to connect with a group of talented Canadian photographers and explore our love of photography and portraiture together is amazing! Having a year long project to stay motivated and connected, to see through together to a final goal of an amazing collection of portraits is so exciting!

Q. What do you expect to accomplish through your participation in The Birthday Book Project?

A. I hope to further develop my skills in portraiture, develop friendships and connections with both photographers and subjects alike that will last beyond the project, and to see our hard work realized as an amazing collection of images!

To bring Canadian photographers together and create a body of work that represents the unique personalities of individuals and celebrates differences, cultures and traditions surrounding birthday memories and celebrations.

We want to encourage collaboration and give photographers an opportunity to showcase their talent by coming together as a community and collaborating on a project that brings to light the uniqueness of individuals around the world..

The concept for this project was born from a book by Gary Goldschneider called The Secret Language of Birthdays. In this book the author compiled information from over 40 years of empirical research to describe individuals through an assessment of the day and month of their birth. We want to do the same, but through images.